No Sugar Added / Two Flavors Banana Muffins

These muffins are slightly sweet, if you have prepared any of my baked goods recipes you know that I prefer desserts that are not too sweet. These muffins will be sweetened only with the banana, so the riper the banana the sweeter the muffins will be. Adding chocolate chips or any dried fruit to the mix will balance the flavor and give us the sweetness/flavor we are looking for. You can bake this batter in a muffin tin or in a cake pan, you can also add your favorite ingredients and have as many flavors as you want. First I make the batter base, then I divide it and add the extra ingredients. Flavors I recommend adding to the batter: diced fruit, lemon zest, blueberries, chia seeds, raisins, hemp seeds, cocoa powder, chocolate chips,any add on that makes you smile. Let me know which flavors you choose or if you added any sugar/honey.

Yield: 12 muffins Preparation Time: 15/20 mins Cooking Time: 12 to 25 mins

Ingredients:

1 cup flour (I used whole wheat)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

½ cup yogurt

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 large ripe bananas

Optional: 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds

Flavor #1:

Handful of blueberries or chopped strawberries

Flavor #2:

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

A handful of chocolate chips

1 tablespoon cocoa nibs

Just Chocolate Chips Version:

Add to the batter ½ cup of mini chocolate chips (full recipe)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F

2. Prepare muffin tin with liners or a cake pan with parchment paper

3. In a bowl mix the dry ingredients

4. Add the wet ingredients

5. In another bowl smash the banana

6. Add to the batter

7. If making two flavors:

   1. Divide the batter into the two bowls

   2. To one of the mixtures add the cocoa powder, cocoa nibs and chocolate chips

   3. Mix well

   4. To the other bowl with the remaining batter add the blueberries and mix

8. If making one flavor:

   1. Incorporate the add-ins to the batter

9. Pour batter into the muffin tins or baking dish

10. If decorations the muffins read the Tips

11. For muffins, bake at 350 F for about 10 to 12 minutes

12. For cake/baking dish bake at 350 F for about 20/25 mins

13. The best way to tell if they are ready is to insert a wooden toothpick and if it comes out clean or with very few crumbs, you can take them out

14. And the hardest part is to let them cool before eating!

Tips:

To decorate the muffins I made some faces with slices of banana, marshmallows and chocolate chips. I placed the banana slices on them before baking. Once the muffins were completely ready, we took them out of the oven and put the chocolate chips and marshmallows on them. Placing the chocolate chips and marshmallow while the muffin is still hot will help it melt a little bit and stick together as it cools. To make the store bought sugar eyes stick you can use nut butter or honey as a glue. Do not bake the muffins with the eyes, they will melt.